Residential Social Worker

Social Worker - Specialist Practice Leadership

• Annual Salary: £39k - £48k (negotiable based on experience)
• Location: Haslingden (East Lancashire) and Longridge (near Preston), with flexibility for homeworking
• Job Type: Full-time

Join a Residential Family Centre service in a pivotal role that blends direct practice with strategic influence. This is not just a standard social work post; it's a specialist practice leadership position at the heart of our service. We offer a unique opportunity for ambitious social workers to deepen their practice leadership while maintaining close contact with families.

• Lead the quality of assessment within the service, supporting the senior leadership team to ensure work remains reflective, evidence-based, and rooted in relationship-based practice.
• Conduct robust, fair, and evidence-based assessments as the core responsibility, organizing a variety of information sources into clear analyses.
• Maintain a balance in placements, ensuring they remain assessment-focused and centered on the child’s welfare.
• Spend quality time with families daily, engaging in both informal interactions and structured assessment sessions.
• Lead in assessing each family’s progress and manage any necessary direct work, communicating progress through verbal updates or reports.
• Support the senior leadership team in supervision, practice oversight, and quality assurance to ensure consistency and the development of good practice across the service.

• Social Work qualification and registration with Social Work England.
• Robust understanding of safeguarding children.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to communicate insights verbally and in written form.
• Experience working with vulnerable adults and children in a safeguarding capacity.
• Team player with a sense of humour and the capacity to have sensitive yet difficult conversations.
• Advanced recording and IT skills.
• Understanding of child development and relevant childcare practice, legislation, and research.

• Flexible working hours and patterns to accommodate personal needs.
• Protected caseload, allowing for intensive work with a small number of families.
• Quarterly team development days with lunch and social activities provided.
• Access to bespoke individual support options like counselling, coaching, and legal advice.
• Good quality, frequent, and reflective supervision.
• Opportunities for career progression in a forward-thinking and growing organisation.
• Additional perks like a monthly car user bonus, 55p per mile mileage rate, and more.